Stephanus Malherbe

Experience

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  University of Pretoria

  Nov 2000 - Dec 2001

  Senior Research Assistant

  Contract research was done towards completion of my MSc (Microbiology) degree under supervision of Prof. T. E. Cloete (University of Pretoria) and Mr. W. Pulles, Managing Director of Pulles Howard and De Lange (PHD) and consortium manager of the Innovation Fund project on the passive treatment of acid mine drainage.

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  Professional Water Management

  Jan 2002 - Feb 2004

  Sales Technologist

  I was responsible for providing cooling water treatment solutions to commercial and industrial customers in Gauteng. I was key accounts manager of 3 casinos, 2 commercial bank head offices (ABSA, FNB), property managers (Liberty, Ampair), large shopping centres (Southgate, East Rand Mall), and Scaw Metals. I developed experience in testing for and eradication of Legionellae in man-made water environments.

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  Improchem Water and Energy Solutions

  Apr 2004 - Oct 2005

  Sales Technologist

  I was key accounts manager for all Anglo-Platinum operations in the Polokwane/Steelpoort Valley region. I was responsible for managing water treatment solutions to the following operations: Polokwane Smelter, Potgietersrust Platium Limited Mine, Lebowa Platinum Mine and Modikwa Platinum Mine. Other customers included ASA Metals (ferrochrome smelter). I doubled the region’s average monthly sales base from R150,000 in April 2004 to R300,000 by the end of October 2005.

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  ZZ2

  Nov 2005 - Mar 2015

  I was responsible for the following strategic activities at ZZ2: - Carbon foot print calculation- Soil health project- Multivariate data analysis (nematodes, soil quality, climate, tomato yield and quality, optimum planting times and price trend predictions/interactions).- Statistical support to researchers and agronomists.- Implement and monitor ecological impact of pesticide programs based on the Environmental Impact Quotient (EIQ) model.I gained experience with the following statistical packages/techniques:- ADE-4: principal component analysis (PCA); correspondence analysis; co-inertia analysis; multiple correspondence analysis; Hill and Smith technique.- PAST: uni- and multivariate tasks.- MS Excel: basic univariate tasks- R: correlation and regression tree (CART) with ctree and rpart packages; time-series analysis and prediction with ts package.- Multiple linear regression (for crop yield prediction) Show less I managed the general activities of the laboratory (reporting, stock control, finances, staff, customer liaising). I provided analytic and statistical support to our agronomists for their research projects. I was responsible for regular packhouse sanitation sampling. I was responsible for performing and/or managing the following test procedures:- Soil Foodweb Institute: active/total bacteria and fungi (FDA agar film and FITC methods); protozoa (MPN method); microbial leaf coverage (modified FDA method); I personally performed these tests on thousands of soil, compost and compost tea samples from November 2005 to May 2009.- Mycorrhiza (root colonization method).- Nematode community profiling (c-p classification and reporting according to Ferris et al 2001).- Cornell Soil Health Test: personally responsible for active carbon, potentially mineralizable nitrogen and root health assays, as well as reporting and creating scoring functions.- Solvita Test for compost maturity.- E.coli testing of water, compost and compost tea.- Microscope-based quality assessment tool for Effective Microorganisms product; used multivariate stats tools to evaluate quality of new samples.- Microbial activity in soil/compost (FDA hydrolysis technique).- Earthworm avoidance bioassay (Minnesota Z-test).- Culture technique for detecting Verticillium in soils.- Responsible for finding outsource labs for the following tests: compost, soil, water and leaf chemistry; biochar chemistry; soil aggregate stability and soil water holding capacity; nematode community profiling; plant parasitic nematodes. Show less

  • Senior Researcher

    Mar 2014 - Mar 2015

  • Laboratory Manager

    Nov 2005 - Mar 2015
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  Unemployed

  Apr 2015 - Sept 2015

  Unemployed

  Pro bono research projects for:- Explogrow (South Africa)- Microzone Products (South Africa)- Syngenta (South Africa)- University of Stellenbosch (South Africa)- ZZ2 (South Africa)

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  Biological Services

  Sept 2015 - now

  As IPM consultant I am responsible for the following:a) Monitoring pest and beneficial insect levels in the following crops:- Hydroponic and soil-grown tomatoes- Hydroponic and soil-grown capsicums- Cucumbers- Eggplants- Strawberries (field grown)- Brassicae (field grown)b) Provide IPM-based crop protection solutions in response to monitoring results (e.g. adjust beneficial insect release schedules, recommend IPM-friendly pest/disease chemical interventions).c) Regular farm visits, IPM-driven trouble-shooting and problem solving, report writing and liaising with growers.d) Tomato-Potato Psyllid (TPP) monitoring in tomato crops on behalf of Biosecurity (South Australia). Show less

  • IPM Product Development Specialist

    May 2023 - now

  • Team Leader (Virginia, South Australia)

    May 2016 - Apr 2023

  • IPM Consultant (Virginia, South Australia)

    Sept 2015 - Apr 2023